BudgetTravel

1. The only way to know if it's a deal is to see what it costs to book separately.

2. Don't trust the packager's hotel description or star rating; research the hotel on your own. If you don't like the hotel being offered, you can usually upgrade.

Remember to bring emergency medicines with you (Budget Travel) 105 SUPERSMART STRATEGIES • Trip Planning • Loyalty Programs • Booking • Packing • Flying • Lodging • Cruises • Car Rentals • On the Ground • Tipping

3. Ask about the flight's times, connections, airline, and change and cancellation policies.

4. Extra nights are often available at a ridiculously low rate.

Buy drugs
Get and fill prescriptions for sleeping pills and medicine for traveler's diarrhea. At some point in your travels, you'll be extremely relieved that you did.

Silverjet! Eurofly! Zoom!
It seems like there's a new airline every day, and because they don't show up in booking engines, figuring out who flies where is a headache. Bookmark DoHop.com--it lists which carriers serve an area.

Third-party bookers often get second-class treatment
Wrong as it is, hotels are nicer to guests who seek them out than to those who come via a third-party booking engine. Whenever possible, book directly. If you see a low rate elsewhere, ask the hotel to match it. Hotels will almost always undercut any middleman--which isn't all that difficult, when you consider that booking engines tack on fees

In case of emergency
Old rule: Bring a photocopy of your passport with you. New rule: Scan your passport and e-mail it (and your itinerary) to yourself and to someone you trust back home.

So much for Tuesday after midnight
For years, many "travel experts" have theorized that some or other weeknight was when airlines released fantastic deals, but that's hogwash.

"Garden-view" equals parking lot
Words can lose their meaning (if they ever had much of one in the first place), and you can't assume your definition is the same as someone else's. A few words and phrases you should cast a gimlet eye on: boutique (when describing hotels), centrally located, charming, chic, garden-view, low-fare (for airlines), luxury, quaint, recently renovated, romantic, stylish, suite, villa, walking distance. Plus: Hotel rating systems aren't worth a whole lot. What makes a hotel four-star versus three-star can be something as silly as a phone in the bathroom.

The proof is in the picture
If a hotel or condo doesn't post photos on its site, ask for images to be e-mailed. But don't assume photos are entirely trustworthy. Images shot with fish-eye lenses make rooms seem bigger than they are; or the hotel may send a photo of a room that's better than the one you reserved.